Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Just when Nora thought things couldn't get any better, she tells her guardian angel boyfriend, Patch, that she loves him and he runs off without replying.  The next day at school, Nora's archenemy, Marcie Millar, tells Nora that she spotted Patch staring into her window the night before.  Nora confronts Patch, who tells her that his business with Marcie doesn't concern her.  He also tells her that the archangels are keeping a close eye on them, waiting for any excuse to get rid of Patch.  Patch knows that his relationship with Nora may be cause enough for the archangels to send him to hell.  Nora, thinking she's doing what is best for the both of them, breaks up with Patch and tells him she doesn't want him to be her guardian angel anymore.  Patch runs straight into Marcie Millar's arms.  To numb the hurt, Nora begins spending time with Scott Parnell, a childhood friend who has moved back to town.  But she can't keep her mind off Patch, even though she thinks he's hiding something from her.  If things with Patch and Scott weren't complicated enough, Nora begins seeing her dead father around town.  She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him, to the point of putting her own life in danger.

I loved Hush, Hush, and I was so excited to read Crescendo.  Unfortunately, Crescendo fell a bit short for me.  It wasn't as compelling as HH, and there definitely wasn't enough Patch to satisfy me.  Nora annoyed me to no end, and I couldn't believe she willingly chose to place herself in some of the situations she did.  She seemed so pigheaded, thinking her way was always the right way.  And I could have slapped her for breaking up with Patch, who is, by far, my favorite character in the series.  I wish Nora would have really thought things through, instead of making decisions on the spur-of-the-moment.  If she'd taken a step back, she would have realized that Patch always had her best interests at heart.  I love that he never gave up on her.  (I have such a huuuuge crush on him right now!  Even more so than before.)

Scott landed at both spectrums with me... sometimes I thought he was okay, sometimes I hated him.  And Marcie was as evil and skanky as ever.  I had the "bad guy" figured out, but the ending totally threw me for a loop.  Happily ever after seems to be eluding Patch and Nora yet again.

Overall, I enjoyed Crescendo, and I look forward to reading Tempest.  Wish I didn't have to wait a year, though!

My rating: 3.5/5

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Teresa Agnes.  Group A, Subject A1.  The Betrayer.

Minho: Property of WICKED. Group A, Subject A7. The Leader.

Newt: Property of WICKED. Group A, Subject A5. The Glue.

Thomas: Property of WICKED. Group A, Subject A2. To be killed by Group B.

Aris: Property of WICKED. Group B, Subject B1. The Partner.

Thomas and the Gladers thought they were safe after escaping the Maze, but they now find themselves faced with another seemingly impossible trial in this sequel to The Maze Runner.  They awake one morning to find Teresa missing, and mysterious tattoos on their necks.  A rat-faced man appears to tell them they have to cross the Scorch, an area that has been completely burned out due to sun flares.  The obstacles they'll face - the unbearable heat; the wicked lightning storms; the Cranks, people covered in pus-filled wounds who have been infected with a horrible disease called the Flare - will be challenging.  The Gladers are told that they, too, have been infected with the Flare, but that they will receive a cure if they make it to a place called the Safe Haven in two weeks' time.  They are told that everything they've been through is part of the Trials and serves a purpose, and are surprised to discover the existence of a second group who also escaped a maze.  But Thomas has had enough.  He doesn't want to be at the mercy of WICKED anymore, and the one person he thought he could trust the most has turned on him.

I thought The Scorch Trials was even better than The Maze Runner, which is high praise coming from me because I thought The Maze Runner was a great book.  I felt like I was on a roller coaster the entire time, there were so many ups and downs and twists and turns.  I tried to imagine myself in Thomas' shoes, but just couldn't do it.  I enjoy seeing the action through his eyes, though, and I respect and like him as a character.  I am dying to know what Thomas' role will be in the next book, and whether WICKED is really good.  And just what the trials will do to save humanity. I don't want to say much else, so you'll just have to read the book to find out what happens.  (I highly recommend reading The Maze Runner first, though.)

I loved this book, and I am left wanting more.  Can't wait to read The Death Cure.

My rating: 4.5/5

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz

A year has passed since the Silver Blood attack in Rio, and Schuyler Van Alen and her best friend/human conduit, Oliver Hazard-Perry, have been on the run.  They're hiding from the Conclave; the Blue Blood leaders think Schuyler is responsible for her grandfather's death.  Schuyler made her choice in the last book, forsaking Jack Force and running away with Oliver.  But an unexpected obstacle in Paris throws Schuyler and Jack together, leaving Schuyler aching to be in Jack's arms, and wondering if she made the right choice.  Meanwhile, Mimi Force has joined Kingsley Martin and the other Venators in the search for the Watcher, and Bliss has spent the last year of her life possessed by the Visitor.  As the Silver Bloods gain power, Schuyler learns that it's her legacy to defeat them.

I have been pleasantly surprised by this series, and each book leaves me wanting more.  This fourth installment was full of action and yearning, and I loved it.  The chapters alternate between three narrators - Schuyler, Bliss, and Mimi - and I really enjoyed seeing events through their eyes.  I'll admit that the Bliss chapters were slow at first, but they picked up around the middle of the book, when Bliss became more like her old self.  After centuries spent believing she is destined to be with Jack, Mimi - who has matured over the last year - begins having feelings for Kingsley.  The Mimi and Kingsley flirtation was fun to read about, and the longing between Schuyler and Jack was palpable.

The Van Alen Legacy was an exciting and entertaining read.  I can't wait to get my hands on the fifth book, Misguided Angel, when it comes in at the library!

My rating: 4/5

Torment by Lauren Kate

In this second book of the Fallen series, Luce finds herself uprooted from Sword & Cross, only to be dumped at Shoreline, a school in California for Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.  Daniel thinks Shoreline will be a good place for Luce to hide out, while he, Cam, and the other angels and demons hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who are after Luce.

Luce resents Daniel's interference in her life.  She loves him deeply - how can she not, when he's all she's ever known, throughout every life she's ever lived? - but wonders if maybe her life wouldn't be so screwed up if she'd fallen in love with someone else.  Maybe someone dependable, like Miles, who is so charming... and normal.  As Luce learns what the shadows are and how to manipulate them, she realizes that Daniel hasn't been very forthcoming; he's hiding something, and she's losing her faith in him.

So many people have said that they've liked Torment more than Fallen, but I found my enjoyment of them about the same:  slow to start out, too drawn-out in the middle, with a really good ending that leaves me hanging and wanting more.  I was so bored as I was reading Torment that I almost gave up a couple of times.  I just wanted something to happen.  As with Fallen, I felt that there was too much buildup.  But once I got to the last 70 pages, I couldn't stop reading.  And, once again, I'm hooked.  I want more, and I have to wait until next summer for Passion to be released.  I hope it's not as drawn-out as Fallen and Torment were, but I have a feeling it will be.

My rating: 3.5/5

Shadowland by Alyson Noël

In this third installment of The Immortals series, Ever and Damen search for an antidote to the antidote (yeah, you read that right) Damen was given in Blue Moon.  Roman tricked Ever when she was saving Damen's life, and now Ever and Damen are forbidden from ever touching.

I waited a long time for something to happen in this book, but not much did until the last 100 pages.  Damen took in the twins, Romy and Rayne.  He and Ever became pseudo-parents to them, putting a bit of strain on their relationship.  Damen told Ever about the Shadowland, where immortal souls go if an Immortal dies.  Ever got a job at Mystics and Moonbeams, the shop she'd gone to for her needs in the last book.  She met the owner's grandson, Jude, and began having feelings for him that she couldn't explain.  Damen "showed" Ever that she'd had relationships with Jude in her past lives.  In the end, Ever was forced to choose between getting the antidote for Damen or saving her best friend, Haven, who fell under Roman's spell and was on the brink of death.

I had to fight boredom at times, but in the end I'm glad I finished the book.  I wasn't sure I'd want to read the fourth book, but I most likely will now so I can see where the story goes from here.  Will Damen and Ever really end up together, or is Ever destined to be with Jude?  Seeing that there are three more books in the series is a bit depressing, though!  (I wish there were more standalone books and not so many series written these days.)

My rating: 3/5

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Firelight revolves around 16-year-old draki, Jacinda; Cassian, the draki prince who wants Jacinda for his princess; and 18-year-old Will, a draki hunter who feels an intense connection to Jacinda.  The draki have descended from dragons, and can blend into the real world by taking human form...something no one but the drakis knows.  Jacinda is the only fire-breathing draki, and has been marked as special.  Out for a forbidden flight one morning, Jacinda is almost captured.  It's Will that saves her, and from that moment she feels drawn to him, and he to her.  Jacinda and her family - her mother and twin sister, Tamra - flee their pride in the dead of night to escape the consequences, and end up in a desert town where the elements take their toll on Jacinda - she begins to lose her inner draki.  If her draki dies, Jacinda will be forced to stay human forever.  She'll do whatever it takes to prevent that, even if it means getting closer to her enemy.  Will makes her feel alive.

The mythology behind the draki is unique.  I like that, even though Firelight is incredibly similar to Twilight (some scenes in the book seemed almost identical to Twilight, only with draki and hunters instead of vampires and a human girl), it has it's own feel; the draki mythology is just not something I've read about before.  The way the author described the draki world made me feel as though I was a part of it, though I admit that I still can't really picture what an actual draki looks like.

I think it's great that Jacinda was willing to do whatever it took to maintain her sense of self, even though her mother and sister wanted her to give up the draki.  Being a draki was all she'd ever known, and for her mother to ask her to give that up didn't sit right with me.  I know that her mother was trying to protect her from the life the draki king had chosen for her, but she was also asking Jacinda to stop being herself.

I loved Will.  By the end, a small part of me liked Cassian, too.  I fully support Jacinda ending up with Will, though, and I'm eager to see how everything plays out when the second book is released next year.

My rating: 4/5